The Wonders of Montmorillonite Clay

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Just in case you were wondering, yes Montmorillonite clay is exactly the same as Bentonite clay.

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The only difference is that is marketed because of the region where it was discovered. For example:

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• Montmorillonite clay (pronounced Mont-more-ill-o-nite) was first discovered and named after its location that being Montmorillon, France in the 1800's. 

• Bentonite clay was discovered in Fort Benton, Wyoming, USA and composed of Ash from volcanoes. It is still harvested from this region.

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Today clay is mostly harvested in France, Italy and the United States. 

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Bentonite is typically regarded as an impure ore of clays that contain both the crystalline structure Montmorillonite and additional crystaline structures. The degree of Bentonite's purity is equal to its degree of Montmorillonite.

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In today's world, finding a sizable source of minerals of 100% purity is rare. It is also rare that the providers of Bentonite would separate the Montmorillonite from the source's composition, which is why it is distinctly considered Bentonite, as opposed to pure Montmorillonite. Essentially, Bentonite and Montmorillonite are the same thing, with those specified as 100% Montmorillonite are the purest on the earth.

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The History of Clay

Clay has been a powerful aid used by the Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and indigenous cultures for thousands of years. It was used both internally and externally, to detoxify, heal wounds and clay was also used for other purposes eg. building, making pots etc. Greeks and Romans were also known to use clay as a medicinal aid from healing fractures (the famous Greek Doctor Dioscoride noted its "extraordinary strength" for healing purposes.

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Before Europeans found out about the uses of clay, Native Americans such as tribes Blackfoot, Sioux and Crow were aware of the strange white clay to which they attributed healing power and referred to it as "Ee-Wah-Kee" meaning "The Mud That Heals".

The tribes were known to use the clay for bartering purposes.

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It was around the 1800's that clay became known in Europe and used as a healing aid. In the 19th Century the German Naturopath Sebastian kneipp, and naturalist Adolph Just, used clay therapy as holistic medicine and spoke highly of it because of the fantastic results they got with it. Julius Stump, a famous Berlin Physician in the early 20th Century used clay therapy to treat a type of Cholera and had great results. Mahatmma Ghandi himself used the healing clays in natural medicine for more than 25 years.

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Clay was also used in the 1st World War, to help with food poisoning, dysentery, diarrhea, and wound infections on troops for both sides, reducing deaths greatly. Today Osteopaths, naturopaths and other health professionals using alternative medicine recommend the use of Bentonite Clay to their patients for detoxifying and help with illness and injury. 

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Early French culture found that the clay helped with gum diseases, sore mouths, ulcers and rashes.

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The clay is also known as "Living clay"  the particles are smaller than many bacteria, when bacteria encounter an environment abundant in clay it becomes surrounded by the clay, and embedded in it. The immediate result is that the bacteria are unable to receive nourishment and cannot survive.

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Montmorillonite's unique properties:

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1. Among the most powerful detoxifying natural substances on earth.

2. Hydrated to a paste it can draw oils and toxins from the skin

3. Powerful absorbent that can attract heavy metal and toxic cations into and onto the particles, neutralising pathogens and toxins.

4. Tends to have a relatively high pH

5. Particle size is very small colloids and electrolytes

6. Contain trace minerals eg, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, silica, copper, chromium and zinc.

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